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Deadly clashes unfold along Pakistan-Afghanistan border
Iran calls for restraint, immediate dialogue
Intense fighting erupted along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on Saturday night, after an attack by the Afghan Taliban on Pakistani military posts led to a heavy exchange of fire which has claimed the lives of dozens of soldiers from both sides.
According to officials, Afghan troops opened fire on Pakistani army posts along the north-western border with Pakistan and seized several of the posts. The attacks came after the Taliban accused Pakistan of carrying out airstrikes on Afghan territory, including in the capital, Kabul, earlier this week.
On Sunday, Pakistan responded with retaliatory strikes, gunfire and ground raids on Afghan Taliban posts along the border.
Pakistan's military said 23 of its troops and more than 200 Taliban and affiliated fighters on the Afghan side were killed in the clashes.
It also closed border crossings with Afghanistan on Sunday, Pakistani officials said.
However, Taliban have released different figure from the casualties. Taliban said their forces killed 58 Pakistani soldiers but gave no details on how it knew of the casualty figures. It also said that 20 Afghan troops were killed or injured.
The clashes signal a new low in Afghan-Pakistan relations, which have become increasingly hostile amid claims that Afghanistan is giving a safe haven to terrorists carrying out an escalating number of deadly attacks on Pakistani soil.
The cross-border strikes came after two explosions were reported in the Afghan capital and another in south-eastern Afghanistan on Thursday. The Defense Ministry of the Taliban-ruled government in Afghanistan subsequently accused Pakistan of “violating its sovereignty” in connection with the attacks. Pakistan has neither denied nor confirmed carrying out the Kabul strike, only stating that it had carried out “a series of retribution operations.”
Iran on Sunday reacted to the developments on its two eastern neighbors with the Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei expressing concern over the clashes.
Baqaei emphasized the necessity of mutual respect for the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of both countries.
He also called for restraint and the immediate dialogue between the two parties to reduce tensions and resolve disputes through diplomacy.